The Media Freedom Foundation is an advocacy organization for investigative news media established in 2000 by university professors Carl Jensen and Peter Phillips. It was created to provide oversight for Project Censored, a project that opposes news censorship and promotes independent investigative journalism. ¹ Project Censored publishes an annual list of what it sees as the most under-reported news stories ² and is considered the longest-running research project on news media censorship. ³

Left-of-center media activism group Free Press has funded Media Freedom Foundation and its Project Censored program. ⁴

Background

Project Censored began in 1976 at Sonoma State University when Carl Jensen, a professor at the university, researched and published “important but under-reported news stories” in the form of annual reports. It was started as a project to provide hands-on student training in independent journalism. ³ In 1996, Peter Phillips, a sociologist at Sonoma State University, became Project Censored’s second director, continuing to research and produce annual reports. In 2000, Phillips and Jensen established the Media Freedom Foundation as a nonprofit organization to provide fiscal sponsorship and oversight and to ensure the project’s continued independence. ¹

In 2010, Mickey Huff, a professor at Diablo Valley College in California, became Project Censored’s third director and the president of Media Freedom Foundation. ⁵

As of 2025, Media Freedom Foundation had an independent board of 12 directors that provided oversight to Project Censored and to the expanded number of projects that have been established since its creation in 2000. ^{6 7}

Activities

The Media Freedom Foundation’s 2023 tax return describes the organization’s activities as “public education on contemporary social issues and protection of the 1^st amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” ⁸ Several programs have been established in addition to the original Project Censored. ¹

The Campus Affiliates program is a network of over 2,560 faculty and students from over 41 colleges and universities who research news stories that were underreported and contribute to the Project Censored content. ^{1 9}

The “Project Censored Show” is a weekly public affairs radio program hosted by Media Freedom Foundation president Mickey Huff. ¹ The show introduces “the news that didn’t make the news” each week, focusing on political, social, and economic issues. The program began broadcasting in 2010 and is nationally syndicated. ¹⁰

The Censored Press publishes books such as the annual State of the Free Press and The Media and Me, A Guide to Critical Media Literacy in partnership with Seven Stories Press, ¹¹ which publishes annual reports for Human Rights Watch. ¹²

“Women Rising Radio” is also fiscally sponsored by the Media Freedom Foundation. It profiles women activists in leadership positions and airs worldwide on the Progressive Radio Network. ¹³ Its topics cover many left-of-center issues including abortion, anti-fossil fuel activism, anti-militarism, climate change, gender rights, immigration, and voter suppression. ¹⁴

Funding

In 2023, Free Press donated $600,000 to the Media Freedom Foundation for “general support of Media Freedom Foundation’s Project Censored activities.” ⁴ Free Press is an activist organization that supports a “free and open internet,” media platform accountability, and opposes “unwarranted government spying and the unjust surveillance of communities of color, immigrants, dissidents and religious groups.” ¹⁵ It has been previously funded by the Open Society Foundations. ¹⁶

Silicon Valley Community Foundation granted Media Freedom Foundation $100,000 in 2022 for “youth development.” ¹⁷ It is a grant maker focused on supporting left-of-center nonprofits in the Santa Clara and San Mateo counties of California. ¹⁸

RSF Social Finance donated $7,500 in 2023 for Media Freedom Foundation’s Women Rising Radio. ¹⁹ It is a grantmaking organization that channels money into businesses and nonprofits that support left-of-center issues such as climate and social services. ²⁰

Additional supporters of Women Rising Radio include Amnesty International, the Center For Reproductive Rights, the Center for Health and Gender Equity, Human Rights Watch, Just Associates, and the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. ²¹

Leadership

As of 2025, Mickey Huff was serving the president of the Media Freedom Foundation and the director of Project Censored, positions he had held since 2010. He was also a professor of journalism at Ithaca College in New York. ^{22 5}

As of 2025, Andy Lee Roth was a Media Freedom Foundation board member and editor-at-large for Project Censored. He joined the organization in 2006. He also sat on the boards of Weave News and the Censored Press. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA. ^{23 24}

Adam Armstrong is the Media Freedom Foundation board treasurer. He joined the organization in 2006 as an intern with Project Censored. Armstrong graduated from California State University and joined the U.S. Peace Corps for two years. He founded Mutari Chocolate in 2014. He is an environmentalist activist and a documentary producer. ^{25 26}

1. “Historical Highlights.” Project Censored. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/historical-highlights/
2. “Our Mission.” Project Censored. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/
3.  “Honoring Carl Jensen.” Congressional Record. July 28, 2015. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://irp.fas.org/congress/2015_cr/jensen.html
4. Free Press. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I.) 2023.
5. “Mickey Huff.” Project Censored – Who We Are – Media Freedom Foundation. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/who-we-are/
6. “Who We Are.” Project Censored – Media Freedom Foundation. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/who-we-are/
7. “Our Work.” Project Censored. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/#ourwork
8. Media Freedom Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2023.
9. “Our Impact.” Project Censored. Accessed May 28, 2025 https://www.projectcensored.org/#ourwork
10. “Project Censored.” 94.1 KPFA. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://kpfa.org/program/project-censored/
11. “Our Work.” Project Censored. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/#ourwork
12. The Censored Press homepage. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://censoredpress.org/
13. “About the Project.” Women Rising Radio. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.womenrisingradio.com/about/about-the-project/
14. “By Topic.” Women Rising Radio. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.womenrisingradio.com/listen/by-topic/
15. “The Issues.” Free Press. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.freepress.net/
16. “Awarded Grants – Free Press.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=free+press
17. Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I.) 2023.
18. “Core Impact Areas.” Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.svcf.org/impact/core-impact-areas
19. Rsf Social Finance. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I.) 2023.
20. RSF homepage. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://rsfsocialfinance.org/
21. “Friends of the Project.” Women Rising Radio. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.womenrisingradio.com/about/friends-of-the-project/
22. LinkedIn – Mickey Huff. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickey-huff-6ab59b64/
23. “Andy Lee Roth.” Project Censored – Who We Are – Media Freedom Foundation. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/who-we-are/
24. LinkedIn – Andy Lee Roth. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-lee-roth-1b9940204/
25. “Adam Armstrong.” Project Censored – Who We Are – Media Freedom Foundation. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.projectcensored.org/who-we-are/
26. LinkedIn – Adam Armstrong. Accessed May 29, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-armstrong-b9720767/